Shots reportedly fired at U.S. Embassy in Abuja – Police arrest two

Posted by admin Headlines Monday, March 26th, 2012

Posted: March 26, 2012 – 18:51

Posted by Saharareporters.com

caption: US Embassy in Abuja

BOTH the police and officials of the United States Embassy in Abuja, on Monday disagreed over shooting in the vicinity of the embassy.

While the embassy informed reporters that there was shooting in the embassy, police authorities said that there was no official report on shooting at the embassy at their disposal.

The US embassy told reporters: “We believe there were shots fired in the vicinity of the U.S. Embassy” without providing detailed information regarding what actually happened.

The embassy also sent e-mails through its information office on the incident to that effect, to diplomatic correspondents. An e-mail was also sent to the Nigerian Tribune. It equally posted the press statement on its embassy website, which was visited by Nigerian Tribune.

In the statement by Deb MacLean, US embassy information officer, the embassy claimed that: “The Nigerian authorities have two individuals in custody.” The statement went on to say, “We refer you to the Nigerian Police for further information.”

The statement reads: “We believe there were shots fired in the vicinity of the U.S. Embassy. The Nigerian authorities have two individuals in custody. We refer you to the Nigerian Police for further information.”

However, when contacted by phone, the spokesman for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command, SP Jimoh Moshood, said there was no official report on shooting at the embassy.

He said: “No complaint of report of shooting was received in or around the American Embassy in Abuja today.

“Senior police officers from the FCT police command visited the premises and met police mobile force personnel and other police teams performing their duties. No such incident was encountered by them and the situation at the embassy was peaceful.”

He went further to say that nobody was in police cell over any shooting incident at the embassy and maintained that if any shooting occurred at the embassy, embassy officials should report the matter to the police.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that eyewitnesses said they saw teenagers set off fireworks on an undeveloped plot located a few metres from the well-guarded American embassy.

Also, some policemen at the Diplomatic Zone, which houses several embassies, told the NAN that the “panic and confusion” was started after fireworks went off.

A petty trader at the location told NAN that although he was not sure what the thunderous noise he heard was, he thought it was fireworks and only ran because everyone else did.

“I hear noise and see smoke; people dey run and I think say na knockout and people say na gunshot, na im I pick my egg roll and kunu and run too,” he narrated.

Nigerian Tribune contacted the spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr Ogbole Amedu Ode, to know whether the embassy had sent an official report regarding the shooting and he said he had not heard of the incident. He said: “Shooting, here in their embassy in Abuja? I am just hearing it from you.”

Prior to the shooting controversy, security was beefed up within the embassy.

As part of the security measures, the Diplomatic Zone, where the US embassy and some other embassies are located, was blocked, metres away from the embassy and specifically in front of the Nigerien Embassy.

Persons and motorists who had anything to do beyond the point were interrogated, frisked and thoroughly searched with some either sent back or asked to take alternative routes.

Also, following threats of attacks against the US Ambassador to Nigeria, Terence McCulley, security has been beefed up at his residence.wp_posts